Criddle’s Riddles: Who was Berra’s buddy?

The passing of baseball great Yogi Berra brought to mind a great bit of trivia. In 1945 Berra was offered a $250 signing bonus by Branch Rickey to play for the Cardinals. He turned it down, though, because another catcher, a boyhood chum from his days growing up in “The Hill” neighborhood of St. Louis, was offered twice that amount to sign. The Yankees found Yogi and the rest, as they say, is history.

Here’s today’s question: Who was that boyhood buddy who became the Cardinals’ catcher instead of the Berra, the eventual Hall-of-Famer?

Yesterday’s Answer: According to a panel of sports experts assembled by ESPN, Michael Jordan was the No. 1 North American Athlete of the 20th century. Babe Ruth was No. 2, followed by No. 3, Muhammad Ali, No. 4, Cleveland Brown running back Jim Brown and No. 5, Hockey’s Wayne Gretzky.